Hybrid Child (Kuroda x Tsukishima)
by cocochin
Summary: "A Hybrid Child is something that is neither machine nor human. It grows depending on how much love it receives." Follow the tragic final story of Kuroda and Tsukishima through Tsukishimas's point of view.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: After watching an insane awesome OVA (Hybrid Child), I decided to write this for fun! It was probably the only anime that ever made me cry buckets. The story will be in Tsukishima's point of view!

 _[11 YEARS AGO]_

 _What does it feel to be a normal child? You wondered as you stared at a group of kids your age playing around in the grass, chasing each other with sticks and branches._

 _You've had a weak body for as long as you can remember. Because overexerting yourself was dangerous, your parents never let you play with the other kids. You shuffled your feet and ducked back behind the tall oak tree._

 _"Tsukishima!"_

 _Your eyes widened when you heard someone call out your name._

" _Oi Tsukishima, I know you're hiding behind that tree!" The boy's voice grew louder and you heard footsteps coming your way. You turned to run when you found him standing right next to you, staring at you with the curious eyes of a seven year old._

 _"Want to join us? We're going fishing down by the river." The darkhaired boy blinked down at you and introduced himself. "My name's Kuroda. We live in the same village."_

 _You stared up at him uncertainly._

 _"My parents don't let me do that kind of stuff..." You mumbled but he had already taken your hand and pulled you out from your hiding spot._

 _He looked out from the tree and saw that the other kids had already started heading down to the river. He started to run to catch up to them, dragging you along with him._

 _"Wait!" You struggled to keep up with Kuroda but he continued pulling you down the hill. The wind breezed past both of your faces and you panted, feeling a rush of adrenaline seep into you._

 _"Faster, they're leaving us!" He noticed your heavy breathing and laughed. "Are you tired already?"_

 _"No!" You said stubbornly and tried to move faster. Both of your faces grew determined, trying to outrun the other. But the entire time, he never let go of your cold hand._

 _You'd never felt this refreshed or thrilled in all of your life. It was a feeling that you wanted to experience over and over again. You turned to look at Kuroda and the two of you grinned goofily at each other._

 _"Be my friend." He gripped your hand tighter._

 _"Okay."_

[ THE PRESENT ]

"Kuroda!" The air shakes as your furious yell fills the room.

You yank the toy arrow that Kuroda's latest invention, a moving doll, shot into your forehead as soon as you stepped foot into his house. You lunge forward to beat him up when your friend Seya pulls you back.

"Calm down, it was just a joke!" Seya says, trying to hide his grin but failing miserably.

"The arrow was aimed perfectly!" Kuroda smirks. He reaches down for the doll and holds his hand out to you for the arrow. You glare daggers at him and snap the bow in half with your hands.

"Oi! That was an important part of my invention!" Kuroda says indignantly.

"Seriously? How long are you going to keep making these useless creations?!" You snap back.

"It's not useless, you brat! I'm on the edge of making a new scientific breakthrough!"

"Say, Kuroda." Seya blinks down at the doll that Kuroda is cradling with his arms. "What exactly is that?"

"It's a doll that grows according to how much love you give it. In other words, it's something that isn't a machine or human." Kuroda holds it up proudly. "It's not completed yet since I haven't programmed it to have feelings or speak, though."

"How stupid!" You butt in. "Who would need that?"

Kuroda cuffs you on the head. "Just you wait. Once I've fully developed my creation, it'll be the best you've ever seen."

"Oh yeah, Tsukishima! Congratulations on being inaugurated as a minister of our village." Seya pipes up as the three of you walk out of Kuroda's house and sit down on the front steps outside "That's a huge step up from being a soldier."

"Thanks, Seya. I honestly don't know why the lord chose me, though.." You bite your lip. You don't know how you can deal with such a huge responsibility, especially since your clan is near the brink of war.

"Hah, you? A minister?" Kuroda scoffs. "What were the elders thinking, choosing someone scrawny like you to help run our clan during these unstable times?"

Your eyes flare up. "Drag yourself out of the house and throw yourself into a river! This is an order!"

Kuroda snorts and goes back into the house. You're about to get up and punch the living daylights out of him when Seya holds up a bean bun as a peace offering.

You take the bun and sit back down. Seya shakes his head.

"You two need to stop bickering all the time like an old married couple."

"He's the one who always picks a fight! What's with that guy?!" You munch on the bread furiously. "If he hates me that much, he should just make it clear!"

"Tsukishima. Let me tell you something." Seya says lightly. "Frankly, I hate these bean buns because it always sticks to the back of my teeth." He rolls a bun in his hand. "Kuroda hates sweets, too. You're the only one who enjoys eating them."

"So what?"

"So, why do you think Kuroda always has these buns stocked in his house?"

You almost choke on your food and cough. "...Don't make me answer such a question." What your friend was implying was ridiculous.

Seya grins knowingly and the two of you stare up at the bright blue sky. It's a beautiful day. The sky is cloudless and the trees are greener than ever, swaying slightly from the light summer breeze that fills the air.

The three of you are blissfully unaware of the danger that was quickly approaching your clan.

You and Seya sit down next to the large table as Kuroda works on his invention. He rummages through cabinets to look for tools with his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"I've decided on what to name my creation." He says. "It's called a 'Hybrid Child.' "

Seya peers down at the doll stretched out on the table and examines its face closely. His eyes widen with recognition. "Oi...if you look closely enough, it resembles Tsukishima, doesn't it?"

"Eh? No way." You bend your head down and stare at the doll's closed eyes and its petite pale face. Actually, it did look eerily similar to you, in some way...

"Don't be so full of yourself. It's not like I modeled it to look like you." Kuroda crosses his arms. "But it would probably be a better version of you once I add the finishing touches."

"You bastard!" You grit your teeth. "Why don't you just go die?!"

Kuroda's face grows dark and he steps towards your direction. You flinch when he lifts your face with one coarse hand and stares at you with his dark eyes.

"You keep telling me to die every time I see you. Well, now that you've been appointed as a minister, a lowly soldier like me can't disobey your command."

"Oi, let go of me!"

He leans closer, making your face flushed. "But what will you do once I'm gone?"

"Cut it out." You turn your face away from him and look down at the floor, feeling slightly guilty. "Stop talking like that."

"Kuroda, that's enough. You're scaring him." Seya runs a hand through his hair nervously. Kuroda lets go of your face and turns back to the doll he's working on.

"I'm leaving." You turn to go when Seya stops you from leaving through the door.

"Didn't you say that you had something to give to Kuroda?" He asks.

"Oh.." You turn back to look at Kuroda, who's staring back at you with questioning eyes. You slowly walk to him and stop in front of the table.

The thing that you wanted to give him wasn't anything much. That idiot would probably just laugh in your face and throw it away. You swallowed nervously.

"Remember the cherry blossom tree in my courtyard? Well.. the wind was really strong last night.. and when I woke up today and went outside, I saw that a branch has been broken off." You reach into the pocket of your kimono. "I thought it might be good for replanting. You like flowers, right? That's why..."

You take a deep breath and hold out a branch of light pink sakura blossoms.

"For you." You say simply.

Kuroda looks at the branch with slightly widened eyes. You don't know if its just your imagination but he seems to be a little flustered. His hand slowly reaches out and grasps it.

"Thank you." He says quietly. The two of you stand facing each other awkwardly, not sure what to say next when you suddenly hear loud footsteps approaching the house.

The door opens with a bang to reveal the eldest minister of your village. His droopy eyes widen when they see you.

"So you were ..here ...all this time! Thank goodness ...I ...found you." He pants, out of breath. "The enemy clan is attacking from the north! They plan to split into three groups and one is headed straight to our village! Please return to the castle to give your orders, MInister!"

You feel your heart pound in panic. You aren't ready to face this. But there's no time.

"Tsukishima." Kuroda starts but the elder minister rushes you out of the house to lead you to attend the emergency meeting, leaving your two stunned friends behind.

Two days later, the day for war has come at last. Your clan has no choice but to face the enemy head on. There's a slim chance of winning the fight but giving up and surrendering is not an option just yet.

"Minister, shall I go get the troops prepared for battle?" A general looks to you for orders.

"Make sure they're ready by the next ten minutes. I'll leave them to you, general."

The heavily armored man salutes you and rushes off to the front lines of the troops at the far end of the village.

You are the youngest clan minister and therefore cannot physically participate in the battle. You have been assigned to stay and keep watch over the clan. You walk to the front gates when you spot a familiar figure underneath a tall oak tree.

You squint and step closer to the person to see who it is.

"Kuroda?" You blink. He's in full battle armor and has his sword strapped next to his side. As annoying as he may be, he's actually got a high position in the ranks of the army.

"Hello, Minister." Kuroda says mockingly. "We're in quite a mess, aren't we?"

You look at him but say nothing.

"Keep watch over my house while I'm gone." His eyes soften a little. "I've planted the branch you gave me next to the fruit orchard. I'm hoping that they'll get grafted together."

"Okay.." You say and look down. The situation is so unreal. Kuroda, the one who's always stayed by your side, is going off to fight the enemy with the rest of the troops. Was this the last time that you'd ever see him again?"

"Why so quiet? Aren't you going to tell me to die, like you always do?" Kuroda smirks. You glare up at him sharply.

"That would only cause trouble for the others if you die right now."

"Good point." Kuroda waves at you lazily and starts walking off. "Well, see you."

You feel a slight panic begin to overwhelm you when he starts to leave. Your lips move of their own accord.

"Kuroda!" You call out.

He freezes in his tracks but doesn't turn around. You look at the ground with a faint blush spreading across your cheeks.

"Be careful... and be sure to return home safely." You mumble. The night grows silent for a minute and then you hear him walk up to you. You gasp when he suddenly pulls you close and brushes his lips against the nape of your neck.

"K-Kuroda!" You gasp and immediately push him back forcefully. "What..?"

He looks at you with a blank expression and then hands you the sash that he always keeps around his hair.

"Take this. It has a note sewn into the bottom. If you ever feel like you're on the verge of breaking down or need someone to cheer you up, take it out and read it."

You take the white sash from him. Why does it feel like he's saying goodbye?

"Kuroda..."

"The war has just begun and it's far from over. So pull yourself together, minister." He looks like he's about to say something more but just then, a squad leader calls him over to prepare the troops for battle.

"Alright, I'm coming!" He calls back and starts to walk away. You stare at his retreating figure.

There's so many things that you want to say to him...

You look at the sash that he's given you. A parting gift. You pull out the note that's sewn into the back end, unfold it, and peer at it closely to see what it says.

 **ONLY IDIOTS WOULD LOOK**.

"Kuroda!" You scream angrily.

Unknown to you, Kuroda can hear your yell of fury from far away. He smirks and continues walking to command his troops for battle.


	2. Chapter 2

It's been two days since you've last seen Kuroda and Seya ever since they've left for battle. You've been keeping yourself busy by tending to Kuroda's orchard behind his house.

He's planted the cherry blossom branch that you've given him next to his favorite tree. You stare at it and stroke the end of the budding flowers.

Hopefully, by the time this small branch blossoms, the war will be over.

[ 1 WEEK LATER, THE DAY THE WAR ENDED ]

"It has been announced. For the sake of our clan, Tsukishima will commit ritual suicide tommorrow at sunrise."

"What kind of nonsense are you sputtering? Is this some kind of sick joke?!" Kuroda snarls at the squad leader. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Kuroda, the war is over! Our clan has been defeated!" The elder man snaps back. "Having a minister commit honorable suicide is the only way to protect our lord's life and bear responsibility for the bloodshed!"

"But why? Why must it be Tsukishima, damn it!" Kuroda's eyes are wild with indignation and disbelief. "Who the fuck suggested it?"

"The rest of the ministers have died in battle." Another squad leader says somberly. "The whole affair is tragic indeed. Tsukishima is a young man. It was especially brave of him to suggest the idea of his suicide himself."

Kuroda slams his fists on the table and gets up, staggering to his feet. He's covered from head to toe in numerous gaping wounds and bandages but quickly heads out of the makeshift shelter, despite the protests and exclamations of the elders.

It's pitch black outside and the temperature is chilling him to the bone but he doesn't care. He grits his teeth in pain and begins limping towards the village, sweat dripping from his brow.

He has to get to you before it's too late.

[ HOURS LATER, BACK AT THE CASTLE ]

"TSUKISHIMA!"

You jolt awake from your sleep when you hear Kuroda's anguished voice from outside the front gates of the castle.

"TSUKISHIMAAAA!"

Kuroda? What was he doing here at this hour? The war was over hours ago but your village hadn't expected the troops to be back until next week.

You walk out of your room and down the stairs to the front gates, where the guards are restraining your friend from entering further.

Kuroda looks up at you and his body seems to relax once he sees that you're here in front of him. You are speechless once you get a clear glimpse of him underneath the candelight.

He looks horrible. There's bandages covering every inch of his hands and neck, and his face is rough with scratches and cuts. Crimson blood is seeping from the side of his throat, soaking the white bandage covering it.

You feel yourself tear up at Kuroda's sorry state but don't allow them to overflow. You can't afford to show him how weak you feel at the moment.

"... You look terrible." You finally say. "Are you sure you should be moving around?"

"Me? Rather than me, you-!"

"Don't yell. You'll wake the villagers up." You cut him off. He looks astonished at how cold you're being and you turn away from him, not able to bear looking him in the eye.

"Come inside if you want." You tell him.

The two of you walk into the castle and towards your dimly lit room. You stand far away from each other, unsure of what to say.

"How're your injuries?" You finally ask softly. Kuroda makes a tch sound with his tongue.

"They're fine. The bandages are what make them look bad."

"Is that so..." You swallow. "And how's Seya?"

"He's been critically injured. He won't talk to any of us for days." Kuroda mutters. "Makes me wonder what on earth he saw on the battlefield."

"That's worrying." Your eyebrows furrow. "Hopefully he'll-"

"I heard that you're going to take responsibility by committing seppuku tomorrow." Kuroda interrupts you, looking at you squarely in the eye. You stiffen but smile ruefully, steadily returning his gaze.

"Yeah." You try to sound upbeat. "Take care of things for me when I'm gone."

"What-"

"I've come to terms with it. I'm not afraid of dying, Kuroda." It's your turn to interrupt him. "If things had turned out alright, I wanted the three of us to go view the flowers in your orchard..." You chuckle dryly. "But it seems like fate has different plans. Stay by Seyu's side for me too, alright?"

Kuroda doesn't say anything and stares at you with such intensity that you shiver.

"Don't make such a scary expression like that. You're already scary-looking enough as it is." You try to lighten the mood.

"...You're so selfish." He finally says. You look at him with startled eyes.

"You're probably doing this because you want to be remembered as a hero. Because you'll be written down in history as 'Tsukishima, the minister who saved the lord's life by committing suicide,' right?" Kuroda scoffs.

"Kuroda!" You say angrily.

"But that's the truth, isn't it?" He shakes his head. "You think that once you die, everyone will be alright? Let me tell you something. The ones who live have a tougher time than the ones who die!"

"What...?"

"Making me clean up your mess once you're gone, so selfishly. Try putting yourself in my shoe instead of only thinking about yourself!"

You can feel yourself shaking, your face contorting with rage. What on earth is he saying? How can he directly spit out such hateful words towards you?

Unknown to you, Kuroda's jaw is clenched and his head is full of regret and sorrow. His mind is in absolute turmoil, desperately longing to say the three words that he wants to say to you the most.

"If you're only here to tell me these things, then go back! Get out!" You yell at him fiercely, hot tears threatening to spill your eyes. Kuroda suddenly reaches forward and pushes you down, making you cry out when your back hits the floor.

"Wait, Kuro-!"

He pins you down with his body and his lips part to press roughly against yours. Your pale hands grip his arm, struggling in his hold. His hand cups your cheek and you shut your eyes tightly, overwhelmed by the pent-up feelings that he's conveying through the kiss.

Kuroda pulls back and you stare up at him, breathing heavily, with astonishment written all over your flushed face.

"You don't understand, do you?" Kuroda says roughly. "Everything's over for the one who dies! The ones who get troubled are the ones who get left behind!" His eyes flash with something between anguish and sadness. "Terrible things like memories remain even after everything's settled, so don't talk of dying in such a light tone. You can't take my memories with you once you die, damn it!"

"I don't want to cause trouble for you!" Your voice trembles as tears finally cascade down your cheeks. "You've been making fun of me for as long as I can remember, never listening to what I say! Someone like you...Someone like you..."

"Deserve to die, right? You hate me that much?"

"Don't snatch my line, you bastard!" You scream angrily at him. You cover your face with your hands, your whole body rocking from your muffled sobs. Your bottom lip trembles uncontrollably.

This is too much... You mind was all set to die a few minutes ago, sure that once you were gone from this world, everything would be at peace.

But Kuroda has planted the seeds of doubt into your heart.

 _I don't want to die, Kuroda..._

You choke on your convulsive sobs. The tears won't stop no matter how hard you try.

Damn this guy for making you start to doubt your resolve again. Damn him..

The tense atmosphere between you two lingers in the air and every second of silence feels like an eternity. You let out a shuddering breath and wipe your eyes with your sleeve.

"Tsukishima.." Kuroda's husky voice breaks the silence and a gentle hand strokes your hair. His arms reach out and steadily hold your quaking shoulders.

"No, Kuroda...Stop it.." Your voice cracks but you lean into him, trembling from your conflicted emotions.

"That's enough. Both of us should just stop talking." Kuroda murmurs and hugs you tightly, as if afraid that you'll disappear from his arms if he lets go. You feel your eyes brim with tears again because of his sudden warmth and gentleness.

You exhale, feeling his heart pounding next to your chest, and your hands slowly reach out to grip the back of his tattered robes. You bury your tearstained face into his neck.

"I'm sorry." Kuroda whispers. "I..I'm so sorry."

[THE NEXT MORNING]

It's near sunrise.

You blink your eyes open and sit up from your bed, gently releasing yourself from Kuroda's arms. Usually he's a light sleeper but he doesn't wake up from your movement. He must have been so exhausted ever since the battle was over.

You put your white robes back on and slowly walk up to the window. The sun is peeking out from behind the mountains, staining the sky a foreboding blood red.

You tremble when you see that the lights are on at the top tower of the castle. The room where your honorable suicide will take place.

You won't lie to yourself. Truthfully, you're scared...terrified of dying. But it must be done, for the sake of your clan. Someone must claim responsibility for the bloodshed in place of the lord, and that someone has to be you.

You look at the peaceful sleeping form of Kuroda and walk up to the bed again. Crouching down, you feel a warm sensation seep into your heart as you stare at his closed eyes.

You love this stubborn man. Why didn't you realize that you had always loved him right from the very beginning, eleven years ago, when he held your hand tightly while running as fast as he could just to warm your cold hands?

You love him so much, it rips your heart apart not to be able to have any more days with him. Just when you've come to realize your true feelings for each other, your time in this world had run out.

Fate is cruel.

You swallow to stop yourself from crying and kiss his forehead.

"Thank you..for everything. I love you."

With a final whispered farewell, you stand up straight and steadily walk out of the room to your death, not looking back even once.


End file.
